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185-Pound Champ Returns on March 18th to Defend Title

Mar 8, 2017 | by: FCFF Staff

Three Title Fights and Two Superfights at Rumble @ The Roseland 91

On Saturday, March 18th the FCFF's 185-pound Middleweight Champion will return to the Slammer at Rumble @ The Roseland 91 to make his first title defense attempt. Michael Collazo took the Middleweight Championship belt at Rumble @ The Roseland 89 in December. He battled Derek Rottenberg from Rogue Combat Academy and took fighting fans on an epic journey for six minutes and 26 seconds. Collazo was nearly knocked out in the second round and was able to regain composure. In the third round Collazo refocused himself (against his toughest competition to date) and submitted Rottenberg via guillotine choke. Collazo's large fan base erupted in celebration as he earned the Middleweight Championship belt. On Saturday, March 18th Collazo will face Eric McConico from the same gym as his last competitor. McConico has the height advantage and their gym has something to prove. McConico has earned three wins in 2016. First, a ten second knockout victory at the Arena Wars: Bad Blood event against Alex Stephens; Second, a decision victory over Johnny James at Budofights 15 and most recently he claimed the Light Heavyweight Title vs Iladar Redonovick in January by decision at Hard Fought Productions' Bear River Fighting Championship II. "This is what the FCFF is all about. Champions find a way to win. Michael was the underdog against Derek Rottenberg and now he is facing a serious reach disadvantage against a man with knockout power," explained Heather Standing the FCFF matchmaker, "this fight is worthy of main event status."

The FCFF's vacant 135-pound Championship Title is up for grabs on Saturday, March 18th. Abdul Kamara from Gracie Barra will face off against Trevor Simpson from Rouge Combat Academy (RCA). RCA is looking to make a push with three fighters vying for Titles at Rumble @ The Roseland 91. Simpson is the underdog, looking to skyrocket with this Title shot. Abdul Kamara is from the region's top gym and brings two Championship belts into the FCFF's slammer. Kamara earned a Title at the Prime Fighting IV event with a decision win over Steven Southern. He was also the "Battle of the Burg" Champion with a win over Sean Soliz (a highly-respected wrestler and regional MMA fighter) in 2015. Kamara hasn't fought in an FCFF event yet, and he needs a win. In 2015 he suffered back-to-back losses, both via judge's decision. "Abdul is going to look to close this fight quickly and not leave anything up to the judges. While he has two Title belts, they are not from the FCFF," said FCFF co-owner Kevin Keeney. Simpson isn't fazed by Kamara's two championship belts; he is building on his own momentum. Simpson is coming off a victory vs Raymond Mazyck at Hard Fought Productions' Bear River Fighting Championship II in January and is ready to rumble.

The third Rogue Combat Academy Title contender on the FCFF's "Rumble @ The Roseland 91" fight card is Chris Logan. Logan will battle against Yan Kuvaldin of Impact JJ for the 145-pound Championship Title. "This will be an exciting fight. Yan came up short for an FCFF Title and is hungry. Logan is on the rise to becoming a pro," explains Standing. In September of 2016 Logan earned the Arena Wars: Bad Blood Championship belt with a TKO win over Omar Godinez. On January 28th 2017 he beat Alex Killebrew at Rogue Fights 36 via TKO by a referee stoppage due to strikes. Logan has seven wins on his MMA resume, but the one time he fought in the FCFF - he lost. At Rumble @ The Roseland 86 he was defeated by Ricardo Martinez via rear naked choke submission. He wants to conquer the FCFF's slammer and take home the 145-pound Championship to Southern Oregon. Yan Kuvaldin is looking to turn his single belt into a collection and redeem his last appearance in the slammer. On May 14th 2016 Kuvaldin faced Cris Williams for the FCFF's Title and came up short at Rumble @ The Roseland 87. Since, Kuvaldin battled Brandon Cromartie at Knucklehead 15 and earned their Championship belt via a round two triangle choke. Previous to his FCFF title shot, Kuvaldin had two wins in 2016: a TKO win over Austin Jara at Knucklehead 14 and a submission win over Andrew Perri at Prime Fighting. According to Kevin Keeney, "Yan is incredibly talented and strong... This should be an outstanding match-up."

There are two FCFF Superfights on the Rumble @ The Roseland 91 fight card on Saturday, March 18th. The first is a rematch between Alex Aguilar and Saul Gallegos-Ruiz. The two first met at Rumble @ The Roseland 87 in May of 2016. There, they battled for the FCFF's Welterweight Championship. Gallegos-Ruiz locked the submission victory over Aguilar in round three. Since Aguilar has fought at Midtown Throwdown 10 and earned a win over Sean Clemons via judge's decision. Gallegos-Ruiz is looking to reclaim his Championship status as he lost the 170-pound Title at Rumble @ The Roseland 88 to Raymond Hill. If he can beat Alex Aguilar at Rumble @ The Roseland 91 (in this superfight level battle) he will be on track to reclaiming his Championship status.

The final FCFF belt on the line at Rumble @ The Roseland 91 will be for the 160-pound Superfight Title. Angel Espino of Animals MMA will face DJ Nuttall of Impact JJ. In August, Espino earned the Midtown Throwdown Championship belt with a win over Cordaro Floyd via a round one TKO. In April, Espino had an impressive TKO win over Bryan Walters (referee stoppage from strikes) at the Midtown Throwdown 8 event. Nuttall comes to the slammer with five wins including two in 2016. In October he battled Cordaro Floyd at Knucklehead 15 and in January faced Jon Brown at Rumble @ The Roseland 85. He won both fights by unanimous decisions by the judges. "It's about time these two faced one another. They've fought and beat some of the same guys and it's time for a showdown," said Standing.